History of Luge

Olympic Luge History

Competitive luge racing began in Switzerland in the late 1800's but it would be another 60 years before Canadian competitors took up the sport. It wasn't until the late 1950's that bobsledder Vic Emery introduced the sport to Canadians at a ski area in Quebec. Emery, who would go on to win Canada's first Olympic bobsleigh medal at the 1964 Winter Games in Innsbruck, Austria, was also the first Canadian Luge Champion.

Despite a long history and well established competitions in Switzerland, Germany and Austria, luge did not appear at the Olympic Games until 1964. Until then, most luge competitions took place on iced alpine roads and sometimes on 'tracks' with banked side walls. The traditional form of the sport evolved into the two disciplines of Olympic luge and Natural luge.

Olympics

Entry into the Olympics marked the beginning of a new era in the development of the sport as racing switched to artificial ice tracks with steeply-banked curves.

From the outset, European countries have dominated the sport. All Olympic medals from 1964 until 2002 have been won by four countries: Germany, Austria, Italy and the former USSR.

Things changed once Canada was awarded the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, with more European and both North American countries sliding into the medal mix, celebrating Olympic, World Championship and World Cup medals, and ultimately, resulting with growing the sport around the world.  

Luge in Canada

Luge Canada:

The Canadian Luge Association is a not-for-profit organization responsible for governing the sport of luge across the country. With the financial backing of the Government of Canada, Canadian Olympic Committee and Own the Podium, the Canadian Luge Association safely recruits and develops the nation's current and future high-performance luge athletes with the goal of regularly climbing onto the international podium.

Participation in the Olympics

Canada did not participate in the inaugural Olympic competition of 1964, but made its debut four years later at the 1968 Winter Games in Grenoble, France.

Canada’s luge athletes have been on steady progression over the years, continuously posting top results throughout the 1980’s and 1990s. Marie Claude Doyon's seventh place finish in the women's event at the Calgary Games in 1988, Bruce Smith's and Kyle Connelly's 11th place finishes in men's singles at Lake Placid in 1980 and Salt Lake City respectively and a fifth place in doubles posted by Chris Moffat and Eric Pothier at Salt Lake City in 2002 were the best finishes for years.

But with Canada being awarded the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, a new culture for winning was born in Canadian sport including Canada’s luge program.

Canada’s luge athletes began sliding onto the international podium regularly in the early 2000s as the national program developed into a podium threat at the Olympic Winter Games from 2010 onwards. 

The Canadian program built on a record-setting performance at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia where the team finished with three, heart-breaking fourth-place finishes and a fifth. Alex Gough and Kim McRae finished fourth and fifth respectively in women’s singles racing. Tristan Walker and Justin Snith teamed up for a fourth-place finish in doubles action before joining Alex Gough and Sam Edney for another heart-breaking fourth-place finish in the team relay which debuted at the Games in Sochi.

Four years later, the same group of athletes made history in PyeongChang 2018, with Alex Gough becoming the first Canadian to hop onto the Olympic podium, taking the bronze in women’s singles just days before sharing the silver-medal step of the podium with teammates, Sam Edney, Justin Snith and Tristan Walker, in the team relay. 

Along the way, Canada’s next generation of young sliders also began winning medals at the newly created Youth Olympic Games with Brooke Apshkrum winning gold (women’s singles) and Reid Watts (men’s singles) sliding to bronze in Lillehammer 2016. Caitlin Nash and Natalie Corless also celebrated the silver (women’s doubles) at the 2023 Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne, Switzerland.
 

1988 Olympic Legacy

The legacy of the 1988 Olympic Winter Games in Calgary has helped transcend Canada’s luge program – introducing hundreds of youth to the sliding sports. The bobsleigh/luge/skeleton track at Canada Olympic Park was home to Canada's Olympic Luge development program, which has trained many high-potential athletes since the track opened until its closure in 2019.

Calgary’s Olympic legacy introduced and developed many luge athletes into medal contenders at all levels internationally including this generation of Olympians such as: Alex Gough, Sam Edney, Tristan Walker, Justin Snith, Kim McRae who had a track to the podium paved for them by Regan Lauscher, Tyler Seitz, Jeff Christie and the doubles team of Chris Moffat and Mike Moffat.

2010 Olympic Legacy

When Canada was awarded the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, a new culture for winning emerged in Canada and that mentality was no different for the Canadian luge program.

The construction of the world-leading Whistler Sliding Centre and the introduction of the Own the Podium program delivered the resources Canada’s luge athletes required to contend for the podium.

The Canadian Team has never looked back – developing the most successful group of athletes in the program’s history.

Once happy to wear the national uniform at elite competition, Canada’s luge program was on a steady progression to the top of the international luge standings thanks to the hosting of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games at home. The program went on a medal-winning run until sliding onto the Olympic podium in 2018.

Now boasting a new generation of talented athletes, Luge Canada has not wavered in its goal of achieving podium performances.

The bulk of this new generation of sliders are from the Whistler Sliding Centre which has given birth to a pool of legacy babies on Canada’s west coast to the sliding sports including Youth Olympic Games medalist Reid Watts, international medal winner Jenna Spencer, Youth Olympic Games medalist, Caitlin Nash, along with top performers, Trinity Ellis and Embyr-Lee Susko. 

The Whistler Sliding Centre regularly hosts international events including World Championships (2025, 2013) and is a regular stop on the World Cup circuit.
 

Canadian Olympic Luge History

Men’s Singles Results

Women’s Singles Results

Doubles Results

Team Relay Results

Youth Olympic Games Results